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Quality of life

Best cities to live in

City-level liveability, because a country score hides how different two of its cities can be.

EIU Global Liveability Index2026 edition, 173 cities

You do not move to a country, you move to a city. This is the list that decides which one.

  1. 1st place

    Copenhagen

    Denmark

    98.0

    Liveability score

    Perfect 100 for stability, education and infrastructure

  2. 2nd place

    Vienna

    Austria

    97.1

    Liveability score

    Topped the index for three years before Copenhagen took it

  3. 3rd place

    Melbourne

    Australia

    97.0

    Liveability score

    Large Sri Lankan community already settled

The rest of the top 10

Ranked list, positions 4 to 10
RankCityLiveability score
4th place
SydneyAustralia
96.6
5th place
ZurichSwitzerland
96.4
6th place
GenevaSwitzerland
96.1
7th place
OsakaJapan
96.0
8th place
AdelaideAustraliaExtra points on the Australian state nomination routes
95.9
9th place
VancouverCanada
95.8
10th place
TokyoJapan
95.7

Source

EIU Global Liveability Index

2026 edition, 173 cities

See the full published list

This is information, not legal or immigration advice. Rules and figures change without notice. Confirm anything you plan to act on with the official authority for that country, and check your own position with the eligibility checker.

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All rankings

Best countries to live in

The overall ranking, scored on life expectancy, education and income together.

  1. 1Iceland0.972
  2. 2Norway0.970
  3. 3Switzerland0.970
  4. 4Denmark0.962
  5. 5Germany0.959
  6. 6Sweden0.959
  7. 7Australia0.958
  8. 8Hong Kong0.955
  9. 9Netherlands0.955
  10. 10Belgium0.951
Top 10 countries2026 report

Happiest countries

Where people rate their own lives highest, asked directly rather than inferred from GDP.

  1. 1Finland7.764
  2. 2Iceland7.540
  3. 3Denmark7.539
  4. 4Costa Rica7.439
  5. 5Sweden7.255
  6. 6Norway7.242
  7. 7Netherlands7.223
  8. 8Israel7.187
  9. 9Luxembourg7.063
  10. 10Switzerland7.018
Top 10 countries2026 edition, 2023 to 2025 average

Safest countries

Crime and personal safety, scored from resident surveys worldwide.

  1. 1Andorra86.5
  2. 2United Arab Emirates86.4
  3. 3Qatar84.8
  4. 4Taiwan82.9
  5. 5Macao81.8
  6. 6Oman81.7
  7. 7Isle of Man80.3
  8. 8Hong Kong78.2
  9. 9Armenia78.0
  10. 10Japan77.8
Top 10 countries2026 mid-year